Irene Naikaali has spent her career at the intersection of hunger, education and gender equality. As Country Director of The Hunger Project Uganda, she sees every day what it costs a community when a girl leaves school – and what it means when she stays. We sat down with Irene to hear her perspective on one of the most important issues of our time.
1. Hunger and education – are they really the same problem?
In Irene’s view, yes. “They are both symptoms of something much deeper than what we actually see,” she says. When families cannot access markets for their produce, they cannot pay school fees. When schools are far from home, girls face danger on the road. When sanitation facilities are absent, adolescent girls quietly stop attending. Hunger and lack of education are not separate crises – they are different expressions of the same systemic inequality. “They cannot be addressed in isolation,” Irene says. “They have to be looked at holistically.”
2. What does it actually take to keep a girl in school?
More than most people realise. Irene points to the moment of transition from primary to secondary school as the most critical – and most dangerous – point in a girl’s education. Infrastructure fails her: schools lack sanitation facilities that accommodate adolescent girls, particularly around menstruation. Distance exposes her to risk. Cultural expectations pull her toward marriage. The Hunger Project works with governments, communities and other organisations to address each of these stumbling blocks – from installing toilet facilities and distributing reusable sanitary pads, to lobbying for schools to be built closer to communities.
3. When a girl stays in school, what changes?
One girl who graduates becomes a story that transforms the narrative of an entire community. Irene has watched it happen. The girls who sustain that hope become role models – proof that a different future is possible.
When we see girls in school, it is a symbol of hope. Communities hold on to that hope. It motivates other families to push their girls to stay.
4. What does a gift to THP actually make possible?
“Each investment unblocks the stumbling blocks that are getting in the way,” Irene says simply. Cultural barriers. Infrastructure gaps. The distance between a girl and the education she deserves. The destination – a world without hunger – is certain, she believes. “What is important is the journey. When we keep moving, the destination is possible.”